What is dark humour? It’s a type of humour that involves making fun of topics that are usually seen as “taboo”. But more than that, it is a way of saying something intrinsically thought-provoking about a subject that might usually be difficult to talk about.
Dark humour topics can include death, violence, racial or sexual stereotypes, poverty, clichés… It can also be a coping mechanism and a way to come to terms with a difficult situation, something that many don’t seem to understand whenever they deem dark humor inappropriate or offensive. The term “black humor” was coined by surrealist André Breton in the 1930’s when interpreting the works of Jonathan Swift, an Anglo-Irish satirist and author from the 17th century. The topic of death was treated with cynicism and gave space for laughter, hence, dark humor.
Humour and laughter have been prevalent since the existence of humankind. Both have often been viewed in a negative light by Greek philosophers and by early Christian thinkers, who deemed it to be offensive “mockery” or linked it “loss of control”. During the Middle Ages, court jesters were members of a nobleman’s household or served an irreplaceable role in a monarch’s house. Their function was to tell things as they were; the raw truth, without thinking about the consequences, hence their “foolishness”. Their rank didn’t pose any threat, so they were free to joke around, without the fear of being punished for it. As savvy entertainers, they were sometimes given the privilege to advise the king, supplementing him with a stance that usually, didn’t have a hidden agenda to it.
Ironically, nowadays in a seemingly more tolerant era, “jesters” are stripped of the freedom to joke as they please. This generation’s “freedom of speech” comes with filters and the “don’t offend anyone” culture. Stand up comedians are often accused of using “triggering subjects” and having to issue apology statements to the public as a consequence. And here comes my opinion: They don’t own anyone an apology. Humor is not there to be politically correct. Leave that for politics, or other areas in life. There is more than enough pettiness going on on a daily basis, be it in movies, books, tv shows…It is important to preserve at least one space, where actual freedom of speech and unapologetic humor exist. Otherwise, there will never be an end to what someone finds offensive or triggering. And quoting Ricky Gervais on this one “Just because you’re offended, doesn’t mean you’re right.”
Because what else is self-deprecating sense of humor, if not simply a psychological coping mechanism? By putting a situation into a humourous context, you gain distance to it. To laugh in the face of your own shortcomings or a miserable situation, is to build up a healthy distance to it. There is a sense of recognition, which allows someone to not be controlled by the situation. As Nietzsche said “At any master who lacks the grace to laugh at himself, I laugh”. What does it mean if you lack the ability to laugh at yourself or at a situation? It means you lack the necessary distance to stand above the subject. Research shows that dark humour allows an individual to cope with a situation through cognitive reappraisal. This means that your brain tries to reinterpret a situation that can be emotionally triggering in a way that alters the emotional impact. It’s a sort of reassessment that is crucial in a high-stress situation for example.
A study showed that intelligence plays a central role when it comes to understanding dark humor.
Researchers from the Medical University of Vienna asked people to watch dark humour cartoons and rate them. Taking into account the participants educational background, the research showed that the people with the highest education and highest verbal/non-verbal IQ, had the best understanding of dark humor.
Interestingly enough, high aggression levels were linked to the group of people hat had the lowest IQ scores, and the lowest appreciation for dark humor. Now I’m not saying that someone who doesn’t like dark humour is aggressive, but maybe some people will be triggered by reading this study, funnily enough.
It takes some mental gymnastics to deconstruct a joke that is about a “taboo” topic, as opposed to a knock-knock joke. You need to go through multiple layers, to get over the first “shock-value” of the joke, to place it, and have the right distance to understand that it is only a joke. There is a certain emotional maneuvering involved, a certain control over one’s own feelings, which is not something everyone possesses.
Tv shows like The Office have become a barometer for me personally to assess someone’s understanding of black humour, and usually I always get along with someone who appreciates that kind of humor. Although I’m curious if nowadays limits of humour would permit a series like The Office to be as successful, probably being cancelled due to racism, sexism,etc.
As morning editor, my job consists in going through a plethora of sad and anger-inducing news from 6am on every day. Climate change, ongoing wars, corrupt politics…What helps to cope with it all, is to have a sense of humor at the end of the day. Laughter has been proven to heal minds for centuries, distracting us from the woes that life sometimes brings. Life is hard for those that are humourless, so it would be nice if people learned how to take a joke.